Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein nearly had to give up one of them.
Closing out Fantasia Film Festival 2026 on August 2nd with the world premiere of Freaks Part II, the directing duo explained that the sequel and the biggest studio job of their careers arrived on the same afternoon, and that for a while it looked like only one was happening.
How Freaks Part II and Final Destination Bloodlines Got Greenlit the Same Day
We got the news that we got all the money to make Freaks two. We’re gonna make the movie. We’re like jumping up and down.
Lipovsky said. “And then literally two hours later I heard that Final Destination had also gotten greenlit at the same time. So both movies on the same day within two hours of each other were starting. And we were like, it seemed like we were gonna have to choose one, or one wasn’t gonna happen.“
The first call they made was to their lead.
“We called Amanda, and we were like, we might have to take a pause on Freaks,” Lipovsky said.
Amanda Crew, who returns as Mary, was standing a few feet away as he told the story.
They did not end up choosing. They shot Final Destination Bloodlines first, then went straight into the sequel with no gap at all.
Literally the day after we finished Final Destination, we started Freaks Part 2. The very next day.
Lipovsky said.
That timeline holds up outside the room. When the pair spoke to CBC Arts in May 2025, ahead of Bloodlines opening in theatres, they were on a Zoom call from a Vancouver hotel during a break from shooting the sequel, which was carrying the working title Freaks: Underground at the time.
Crew’s response on the panel was the obvious one. “When do you sleep?“
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Why Lipovsky and Stein Went Back to the Indie Freaks Universe
The original Freaks was made to buy them exactly this kind of choice.
We made that tiny little movie, four people stuck in a house basically, to try and get the chance at making the movies we really wish we could make.
Lipovsky said. Before it, they were taking whatever work they could get rather than anything in their own voice. “That film really helped us kind of cement our voice.“
It played Fantasia in 2019, and Lipovsky says they did not expect it to get finished, let alone to be back.
We never thought we were gonna finish the first film, we never imagined we’d have a second one here to be able to show you guys.
The bet paid twice. Bloodlines grossed over $300 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing entry in the franchise. Paramount acquired Freaks Part II worldwide before the premiere had even happened.
Stein used his last minute on the closing-night stage to point at the room.
If you’re a filmmaker in the audience, make your movie.